


You're My Forte

by Verinillium



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura-Band teacher, Coran-Marching director, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, HS Band!Au, Hunk-tuba/saxophone, Keith-trumpet, Lance-trumpet, M/M, Matt-brass, Nyma-clarinet, Pidge-Saxophone, Rolo-percussion, Shiro-trumpet, Slow Burn, and it all starts in the fifth grade, and so yea, and they like each other, klance, they in highschool
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 01:34:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14843072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verinillium/pseuds/Verinillium
Summary: “Hi, I’m Keith! I like you’re trumpet, I have one too!” he said, holding his out for proof.“Hi KeithIlikeyouretrumpet, nice to meet you,” he teased, smiling. “The name’s Lance.”“You’re funny Lance,” he snickered, walking next to him. “How long have you been playing trumpet? I’ve been playing all summer and I’m the best ever!”





	You're My Forte

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for all the puns.... so many puns.... ALL THANKS TO MY FRIEND WYN <<<333

Lance opened his present, large box about two feet long and one foot wide. He tore off the paper and threw it away, frantic to open his present from his uncle (the one that always got him something good) and opened the box. Inside was a bluish green case that said Yamaha on it. He knocked on the hard plastic, slightly confused.

Lance opened his present, large box about two feet long and one foot wide. He tore off the paper and threw it away, frantic to open his present from his uncle (the one that always got him something good) and opened the box. Inside was a bluish green case that said Yamaha on it. He knocked on the hard plastic, slightly confused.

“Tío, what is this?” he asked, lifting the case out of the box, finding two clasps on the front.

“Open it, Cariño. I think you’ll like it,” the older man said, smiling fondly at the small child. Lance looked up at his Tío Benny and then at all the people surrounding him at the table and gave a determined nod and clicked the latched open. He lifted the lid and saw a silver trumpet.

 

>o<

“Hey Keith?” Shiro, said boy’s older brother, called from down the hall. Keith frowned slightly. This was new, usually Shiro never called him into his room. He padded down the hall and popped his head in, almost worried it was some kind of trap.

“Yeah?” he asked warily, stepping in the freakishly neat room.

“I have a present for you since you’re going into the fifth grade,” he said, leaning down and reaching under his bed, pulling out a beat up black leather case. Keith’s eyes widened as soon as he saw it.

“Do I get Frank?” he asked, starting to vibrate where he was standing with excitement. Shiro smiled and nodded, handing him the case. Keith squealed and took it, gently setting it on the ground and opening it, grinning widely at the silver trumpet.

 

>o<

“Te amo Mijo, have a good first day! Make sure to take care of that saxofono Tío Benny gave you!”

“Love you too, mami, but I already told you a million times, it’s a trumpet!” Lance groaned, stepping out of his house for his first day of fifth grade in bright Southern California.  His family had just moved there from Florida, mainly for family.

“Lo siento Carino, have a good day,” she kissed him on the forehead (which was promptly wiped at) and stood at the door as she watched Lance skipped down the sidewalk to the bus stop.

 

>o<

“I hope you have a great day my little, well, big man. I’m so proud of you,” said Keith’s dad, ruffling Keith’s longer hair with a grin. Keith smiled, a few teeth still growing in from that summer.

“I will Dad! I have Frank, it’s gonna be great!”

“Make some…people friends, too, kay Scout? I know we just moved, so it’s a great opportunity to start fresh.” Just that summer Keith, his father and adopted brother had moved to California from Texas with his father’s tech job. “And remember, we have the Holt’s coming for dinner, so I want you to be on your best behavior when my boss is here.”

Keith nodded. “I’m gonna make a bunch of friends! I’ll show them Frank and they’ll just have to be my friend! I can show them how good I am,” he said, stepping out the door, Shiro behind him. “Bye, Dad!”

Keith skipped down the sidewalk, Shiro close behind. Their stops were about a block away. Shiro went to middle school while Keith was in his last year of elementary. As they walked, Keith literally stopped in his tracks, Shiro walking into him.  “Keith!? What are you doing?” he asked, slightly irritated.

Keith didn’t say a word, he just pointed at a case similar to his and ran off, his big backpack bouncing on his back. He looked at the tan fingers holding the handle, then up the arm to probably the prettiest person he’d ever seen. When he finally caught up with the boy, he grinned. “Hi, I’m Keith! I like you’re trumpet, I have one too!” he said, holding his out for proof.

 

“Hi KeithIlikeyouretrumpet, nice to meet you,” he teased, smiling. “The name’s Lance.”

 

“You’re funny Lance,” he snickered, walking next to him. “How long have you been playing trumpet? I’ve been playing all summer and I’m the best ever!”

 

“Me too! I got it from my Tio Benny,” he said proudly, puffing his scrawny chest out. “And  _ I’m  _ the best ever!”

 

“Oh yea, well I’m the best everest!” Keith challenged, jutting his lip out.

 

Lance giggled. “You’re cute,” he said, before running off, making the last ten feet to the bus stop. Keith stared after him, slightly confused. Are boys supposed to think other boys are cute? he thought to himself.

 

“Oh, I know, I’ll ask Kashi!” he said, turning around and running to Shiro. “Kahi, Kashi!” he shouted, running to him. “I have a really important question.” He ran up and tugged on his arm.

 

“What is it Keith?” he asked, looking down at the smaller boy.

 

“Can boys think other boys are cute?” Shiro’s face went bright red.

 

“Um, yea…Of course,” he leaned in close, looking around nervously. “Where did you learn about that?” he whispered. wondering if Keith had heard him on the phone with Matt last night.

 

“Lance called me cute.”

 

“Who’s Lance? Is that the other trumpet boy?” Keith nodded, looking at Shiro.

 

“He said I was cute when I made this face.” He mimicked the pouty face he made earlier, folding his arms across his chest as well.

 

“Well, that is a cute face,” Shiro said laughing, poking his nose. “But maybe, this trumpet boy has a crush on you,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Just be nice and be his friend,” he shrugged, leaning back up.

 

Keith nodded and ran off again, getting to the bus stop just as the bus was pulling up. He was going to sit with Lance, he decided, and ask him more questions. But he couldn’t because Lance was already with a friend. Keith ended up sitting alone on the bus watching out the window and thinking about the cute boy.

 

>o<

 

“Band Time” was an hour every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was held in one of those empty classrooms on the edge of the school grounds (mostly so their “music” wouldn’t bother the other classes), that the older kids from last year said were haunted. Most of the fifth grade classes had free time during the time, so the band kids missed out on non-instructional time. The band teacher was a band instructor from the local high school that came down after the high school got out. She was late nine times out of ten, and one of those times was the first day of school.

 

“Hello, hello everybody,” Ms. Allura said as she hurried in through the door into the dusty room, filled with a dozen-odd fifth graders. She pulled her cart to the front of the room and stood at her conductor’s podium, an older one of hers. “Hello everybody, I am Ms. Allura,” she said in a sweet0toned British accent. “The first thing we are going to do is figure out where you all sit. Do any of you know what instrument sits in the front?”

 

A small Asian girl shot her hand up quickly, waving it wildly in the air. Allura smiled and pointed at her. “Hi! I’m Hannah, I play flute and I am nine years old!” she said with a large grin.

 

“Hi there Hannah,” Allura said with a smile. “Can you tell me what sits in front?”

 

“The flutes! So me!” she said, bouncing in her seat.

 

“Very good, so-“

 

“And then the clarinets! Then the saxophones, then the trumpets and trombones!” she said.

 

“Mhm, and-“

 

“And the rows are curved! They’re called musical arcs!” Allura was about done with this girl and they weren’t even passed the first five minutes of class. Allura had already had to deal with the new freshman, and her horrid fifth period band appreciation class that consisted of kids who wouldn’t listen to anything she said.

 

“Absolutely right. Moving on, everybody heard what Hannah here said, so let’s go,” she said, standing to help move chairs. Everyone moved to their sections, saying hi to new and old faces. Meanwhile, though, Lance was staring at the beautiful band teacher.

 

He strutted up to her, remembering what his Tío Benny said about beautiful women. “Hey there, the name’s Lance, and I bet yours is gorgeous,” he said, giving finger guns and a failed wink. Allura just stared at him and tried not to laugh.

 

“Nice to meet you Lance, and as I said earlier, I’m Ms. Allura,” he said, bending down slightly and offering a hand shake. “Quite the gentleman, I like it. And I presume you play trumpet?” she asked, looking at the case.

 

“Mhm, and I’m the best!” he shoved a thumb at his chest and puffed out his chest, grinning in satisfaction.

 

“Oh, you are, are you? Well, we’ll just have to see.” Lance would be a…project. He was living up to the legacy of a trumpet player though…Egotistical. Allura placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder and nodded to the other trumpet players. “You should go introduce yourself; I think you’ll be good friends.”

 

She was wrong, very wrong. Other than Keith, there was one other trumpet player and she was a rudeling (as stated by Lance). He disliked her so much, he made Keith (who was slightly confused) sit in between them.

 

“Hi Lance,” Keith said, giving a small wave, his trumpet sitting in his lap.

 

“Keef! You have a gray trumpet like me too! That means that you are cool like me. Are you ready to see how good I am?” Lance asked cockily as he got his trumpet out. Keith gave an enthusiastic nod. “My Tío taught me my Bb scale and I have it rememberized! Ready?” Keith nodded again as he watched Lance take a big breath. Lance played the notes in the right order, somewhat cracky, but it was still rather impressive for a boy his age. Keith watched with a smile.

 

“My brother Tashi taught me Bb  _ and  _ Eb! Wanna hear?” he asked. Uh oh, Lance thought to himself, Keith was ahead.

 

“You have to teach me the Eb! Now!” he said indignantly, looking at Keith with the most serious expression a nine year old could muster. Keith looked at him with wide eyes and nodded, sealing his fate to fall in love with the boy…At least eventually.

 

>o<

 

Fifth grade passed quickly, both of the boys competing to get there sticker for the song first (they got  star stickers on a chart every time they learned a song and played it “perfectly” for Ms. Allura. ) They both got much better, both having their family member teach them something new so they could impress the other the next time they had band. Even during regular class they were working hard against each other. About half way through the school year there was a new kid named Hunk. He instantly fit in with the two friends, picking up saxophone  for band.

 

By the end of the year, Keith had decided that he liked Lance. But Lance didn’t like him back, Lance liked the other trumpet, that girl he thought was evil. It broke Keith’s little heart when he found out. Then the next day he found out he wasn’t going to the same middle school as Lance or Hunk. He was going to be alone again.

 

On the last day of school, there was a graduation ceremony for the fifth graders. Keith sat next to Lance, feeling like he wanted to cry. Lance was the first friend he had made, and now he was losing him to a stupid school. Technically, they could see each other after school, but it wouldn’t be the same. Keith went up and got his certificate, his father clapping with the rest of the crowd. When Lance went up to get his a few kids later, Keith started crying. “Keith, come here,” Hunk wrapped his arms around Keith, knowing why he was crying. Keith calmed down after Lance got back, only occasionally sniffling, claiming it was allergies when Lance asked.

 

Keith went home afterward, sad and mopey, icecream not even fixing it. He had just lost the love of his life.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Middle school passed quickly, Keith quitting band six grade then getting back into it seventh grade. He was good enough to get into advanced band, but his teacher wanted him to stay in beginning band to help the other trumpets. Least to say, he was pissed. Even after a year of leave, he was better than most of the trumpets in there.  He kept his mouth shut though, not wanting to get on his teacher’s bad side.

 

Keith rarely saw Lance, only occasionally if Hunk invited him to something, but that was rare. He mostly hung out with Pidge Holt, his father’s, boss’s daughter who was three years younger than him, but seemed three years older. They were especially good friend’s Keith’s eighth grade year since they were at the same middle  school. They hung out almost every day of school ad talked about guys and how gross their older brothers were (At this point, Matt and Shiro were together, and had been since freshman year.) Keith didn’t really do “friends” throughout middle school, he just had Pidge and occasionally his brother. It was about the exact opposite for Lance…

 

Lance had turned into this beautiful boy that all of the girls (and guys) fell for. He was popular, smart, and talented, easily the best trumpet player at his school, the drum major during marching season with his mace, throwing it into the air with ease and catching it, making the other middle schools look rather lame with their lack of a drum major.

 

By the time band camp hit during the summer of their freshman year of high school, Keith had mostly forgotten about Lance, too occupied with better things. He had gotten the letter in the mail, telling him what to bring and what not to. Shiro drove him to the high school at seven in the morning, both in shorts and loose shirts, giant containers of water. Shiro was starting his senior year and he was jacked. After being in most of the sports and band, he had grown to be tall and built, almost the complete opposite from his boyfriend Matt, the skinny nerd who enjoyed concert band much more.

 

Keith got out of the car and followed Shiro into the band room, being bombarded with the loud noises of instruments and people shouting for some reason. But as soon as everyone saw Shiro, the room quieted down. Shiro was the drum major this year, and was respected by everyone, even the punk percussion kids (jk.) Shiro nodded at everyone and walked into Allura’s office, needing to discuss things with her.

 

Keith, being the introvert he was, spotted Matt and sat in the chair next to him, pulling out Frank and warming up, his tone clear and beautiful. Matt turned to him and looked at him impressed. “Jeez Keith, you’ve gotten pretty good since last I heard you,” he said, patting him on the back.

 

“Matt, the last time you heard me was at my seventh grade winter concert when Shiro forced you to come,” he said dryly. “I think I’ve gotten better since then as well.”

 

“Aright alright, what crawled up your ass and died today?” he asked, laughing a little. Keith huffed and shook his head, returning to his scales. It was Lance that had him like this, mainly because apparently he was too cool to hang out after sixth grade, totally forgetting about Keith. And Keith knew he had to see him today…

 

Keith sighed and put the trumpet down, deciding to text Pidge, try to ask her what to do.

 

K: So I’m gonna see Lance today…what do I do?

 

Almost immediately he gets a response.

 

P: Punch him in the face

 

P: Jk jk, just say hi

 

K: But what if he doesn’t remember me?! Its been years!

 

P: Im sure u’ll be fine.

 

K:Ugh, if I die spontaneously, it’ll be your fault! And what if he thinks I’m weird! I look weird!

 

P: Keith, I am saying this as a friend; other than the fucking mullet you got, you actually matured really well, so I’m sure if Lance is actually bi like he says he is, then  you might have a chance.

 

K: I don’t want a chance! I just want to be his friend!

 

P:Bull shit and you know it.

 

K:…

 

P: That’s what I thought. Now get out there and say hi! Grab him by the balls and tell him whos boss!

 

K:Oh my God, I’m not going to do that!!!

 

P: You’ll be grabbing his balls at one point ;) ;) ;)

 

Keith face got hot as he read that, covering his mouth.

 

K:Oh my God, Pidge, just…no…

 

P: Its tru! Now get out there cow boy and ride that boy into submission!

 

K: I’m going, I’m going, just stop, pplleeeaassseeeeee, I’m bbbeegggggginnngngaasdlfna

 

P: Bye lover boi, have fun!

 

Keith sighed and locked his phone, putting it in his pocket. “Why were you talking to my sister and getting such a red face Kogane?” Matt asked, poking Keith’s side.

 

“I was talking about…A guy,” he said, Matt having already known that he was gay. “And how did you know I was talking to Katie, but not what we were talking about?” Keith asked, looking at him with ReallyFace™.

 

“I like messing with you, shut up and stop saying logical things!” he said, batting at Keith’s shoulder.

 

“Really? Coming from you , Mr. Logic and brains?” he said, laughing a little. That is, until he was cast in the shadow of his fears.

 

“Keith,” Lance said, looking down at Keith. The boy had grown at least a foot and a half since sixth grade, towering over Keith in their current position. “Ready to see how good I am?” he said, smirking, Hunk standing behind him quietly.

 

Keith panicked and did literally the worst thing someone could do. “I’m sorry, who are you?” he asked, looking at Lance with a raised eyebrow. Lance spluttered in disbelief, looking at Keith incredulously. “Um, the name’s Lance, ya know, big time rival in the fifth grade!” he said, narrowing his eyes at Keith.

 

“Sorry, don’t recall,” he said nonchalantly, eyeing the boy, who was absolutely gorgeous, clear and tan skin, the complexion of a God. And his eyes were even more vibrant than they were two years ago.

 

Lance huffed and folded his arms like a child. “Fine then, I won’t waste my time on you if you’re going to act this ignorant,” he said, looking to the side, his eyes widening slightly when he saw a gorgeous blonde haired girl. “Daddy has got better things to do,” he said, walking away quickly from Keith to flirt with the girl. Hunk stayed behind, looking nervously at Keith.

 

“Hey Keith…Sorry about him,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He remembered how Lance acted, he remembered the feelings Keith had had for him. “Yea, he’s a bit of a…”

 

“Fuck boy?” Keith supplied, standing to hug Hunk. “It’s nice to see you Hunk, even if seeing you means that I have to see him too.”

 

Hunk winced slightly. “You do know that you don’t have to be so bitter? I mean, we were kids. And he did kinda miss you after we stopped talking so much…” Hunk said, trying to diffuse the tension that held between Keith and Lance. “And did you have to pretend to not remember him? I think that was a low blow…”

 

“Well I think him ignoring me for two years was a low blow,” he said, folding his arms and looking distastefully at Lance trying to flirt with the sophomore that was way out of his league. “Hunk…I still care, if you couldn’t tell. And you need to tell Lance that that girl is nothing but trouble. Shiro has told me stories about how she uses guys for free stuff..Please talk to him for me. I’m gonna go and…do stuff, yea, see you around Hunk,” he said, putting his trumpet away carrying the case to the back room where instruments were stored. He put it in a cubby and walked out, sighing when he saw Lance still flirting with the color guard girl. He walked into Ms. Allura’s office, seeing her and his brother laughing about something. As soon as they noticed Keith though, they cleared their throats and looked around guiltily.

 

“Hello Keith, it’s been awhile,” Allura said, breaking the awkward silence with her soft voice first. Allura didn’t look much different than she had three years ago, the only thing that had really changed was her silvery hair getting incredibly long.

 

“Hey, Ms. Allura, how have you been,” he said with the smile he used when talking to adults. He liked her, but she could get scary if you didn’t respect her.

 

“I’m fantastic, I was talking with your brother here about how good you are,” she said, glancing at Shiro with a smirk. “I hear you have some competition though. You remember Lance McClain, right? He’s turned into quite the exemplary trumpet player.”

 

“Eh, Keith can take him during chair tests, I bet he’ll beat him,” Shiro said with a big grin at Keith. “Especially with Fr-“

 

“Shiro,” Keith said warningly, narrowing his eyes slightly at the senior. They had already talked about dropping the name since he was in high school.

 

“Especially with...Freedom! He’s a man of his own choice now!” Shiro smiled and winked at Keith, who in turn groaned.

 

“Oh…Well, have fun with your freedom Keith, Shiro and I have to discuss the parade block set up, so you’re free to stay and listen to us drone on and on about five and seven man fronts, or, you could go out and make new friends!” Allura said, clapping her hands together and smiling at Keith.

 

“Um…I’m gonna go clean my trumpet,” he said, leaving the room at that.

 

“A lot of things have happened since elementary school for him, so he’s changed a bit…He’s still Keith though,” Shiro said, smiling at Allura.

 

“I can tell, but…Oh well, never mind. Anyways, back to center guides…”

 

>o<

 

Keith left the room, not even caring that he heard them talking about him. He walked to the back room and his heart broke even more; he saw Lance making out with that girl, Nyma. Keith stared at them for a second, face bright red.

 

Lance pulled away, panting slightly, looking at Keith with a red face. “Jesus, dude, stop staring, your jealousy is showing and it does not look good on you,” he said. The girl giggled and placed her hand on his chest. Keith huffed and grabbed his case. He still felt like a middle schooler, something as dumb as this, effecting him? He walked out of the room as fast as he could, dropping his case by Matt and rushed out of the band room to the bathroom. As soon as he got in there, he started sniffling, then crying. He pulled out his phone.

 

“P-Pidge?” he asked, voice cracking slightly.

 

“Keith? What happened? Are you okay?” she asked, instantly concerned and pissed.

 

“L-Lance…I, I told him I didn’t remember him, and n-now, I just saw him making out with this evil girl, and I…Pidge, I still like him, and-“

 

“Keith, calm the hell down. Take five breaths for me, I don’t want this turning into a full blown anxiety attack.” Keith did as she said, calming down substantially. 

 

“Alright, now, start from the top, what did you do when you saw Lance?”

 

“I told him I didn’t remember him, but then he didn’t care after he saw Nyma,” Pidge scoffed at hearing the name. “I know, right!? And he is being and ass, and I just…I don’t know what to do…” Keith said, starting to feel miserable. Maybe he’d drop band, he didn’t want to deal with this, with Lance. But then again, he loves music; it was something that had gotten him through some pretty difficult times… He took a breath. “What should I do Pidge?” he asked, voice softer than usual.

 

Hearing Keith like this broke Pidge’s heart. She had never had feelings for him in anyway but a familial way, but she did care for the boy. “Keith..I think you should just  stay away from him, he sounds like an ass. I don’t want you getting torn up emotionally.”

 

“That’s the problem though, he’s a trumpet player! And we’re both freshman, so we’re going to  _ have _ to sit next to each other. And he was the one that came up to me…Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to talk to him at all today.” Keith sighed and checked the time, seeing he only had five minutes until the band session actually started (he had to come early since Shiro was drum major…it had its perks…sometimes.)

 

“Well, let’s just hope you don’t get stuck next to him in your block.”

 

“Yea..I gotta go, it’s about to start, I’ll talk to you later Pidglet, bye.”

 

“Bye Samurai, see you later.” Keith sighed again as he hung up the phone. He put it back in his pocket and left the bathroom, walking back to the band room, not ready for what the rest of the day held.

 

>o<

 

Keith did sit next to Lance and he did march next to him in the block. Keith mentally and verbally cursed each time he found out he was next to Lance. All Lance did was scoff and walk off, muttering things about how lucky Keith was to get to be next to him. Hunk was really the only other person he talked to (besides Matt and Shiro, of course) and that was a pretty often considering Hunk would come and say sorry every time Lance was an ass. Speaking of Lance’s ass, it looked pretty good in those basketball shorts…No, Keith! Stop it! he yelled at himself mentally, trying to shake the thoughts from his head. He huffed and looked at the music he had to have memorized in three weeks. He put the horn to his lips and blew the first note, but was instantly cut off by someone tapping on his stand. It was  _ him. _

 

“You’re sharp.,” Lance said, raising an eyebrow at him. “You need to fix that, I’m not letting my section sound bad because of you.” Keith took a calming breath, pulling one of his tuning slides out slightly. He played the note again, it sounding much better. “Nope. still sharp.” Keith huffed and pulled out more.  “More.” Keith listened, not wanting to cause more trouble by talking to him. “You’re fine now,” he said, pulling his instrument out as Shiro walked into the front of the band room, looking down the arcs.

 

“Alright everybody, new and returning members alike, this year we are going to blast our old scores out of the waters and replace them with bigger and better numbers!” Everyone cheered, Shiro being a large force of spirit in the band. “Let’s get practicing!”

 

>o<

 

“Thirty- seven fucking times, Pidge! He commented on my marching thirty-seven times!! I counted!” Keith said, burying his head into his pillow and screaming. Pidge shook her head, rubbing his back.

 

“Ya see, Keith, if you thought he was a jerk and hated him, you wouldn’t be this fixated. You literally counted every time you had an interaction with him. You like him, or worse, are in love with him.”

 

“I’m fifteen! I don’t even know what love is!” he said, groaning into the pillow.

 

“Let it all out girl, big sister Katie is here,” she said, patting his back. There was a knock on the door, immediately followed by Shiro’s head through the door.

 

“Lance?” he asked, looking right at Pidge. She nodded and Shiro sighed. “Keith, you can’t let that boy get to you. Don’t give him the power and he can’t use it,” he said, walking in and sitting on the bed, Pidge taking the hint to let the brother’s have some time. “As your older brother, I want to bestow some knowledge on you; boys aren’t worth it unless they’re willing to treat you with respect, and by the sound of it, Lance is an ass… I just don’t want you getting hurt your freshman year.”

 

“That prick already hurt me, but Shiro, I still like him! Why?” he said, looking at Shiro with a pleading face.

 

“Well…Like Pidge said, maybe you do love him. That’s a possibility, right?” Shiro asked, placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder.

 

“I..I dunno. I’ve liked him since we first met, but we were so young…I think you guys are blowing this out of proportion, I don’t love him.”

 

Shiro shrugged. “Well, if he does anything too drastic tell him I’m coming for him, kay Keith?” he said with a smile, nudging Keith’s shoulder with his fist. “I love you buddy.”

 

“Love you too Tashi--“

 

“AAHHHH, brotherly bonding!” Matt and Pidge said in unison as they walked through the door, hands on their hearts.

 

Keith scoffed, looking at the two. They were so similar that whole in since thing was kind of creepy. “Wow, how long did it take you guys to actually do that in time?” he asked, laughing slightly.

 

“Oh shut up!” they said in sync again, looking at each other with slightly horrified expressions, then busting into laughter, Shiro and Keith joining them.

 

“Thanks guys, I really needed this..The rest of band camp can’t be too hard, right?” He was wrong…Very, very wrong.

 

>o<

 

Keith caught Lance and that girl kissing in almost every part of the band room, including the private practice rooms, the drum closet and the back storage room. He was getting sick of it. One of the times Lance didn’t even have a shirt on (which made Keith very red) and the two didn’t even realize Keith was there.

 

The actual marching got harder too, this guy named Coran was the actual marching instructor. He was seen as a jerk with a pole up his ass, but he was actually really nice if the kids were doing what they were supposed to be doing. Lance especially liked him when Coran picked on Keith for being out of step. They had to run a mile everyday of band camp, then marched about double that, all the while Coran yelling at them with a megaphone, calling them weak. Keith was okay with the running, he had been in track during middle school, but it was the marching that was killing him. He couldn’t stay in tempo for shit, but he was good at playing while marching.

 

On the last day, Shiro decided to have them play a game called Medusa. All of the returning members groaned as soon as Shiro said the name. Keith and Lance looked around, trying to see why everyone was freaking out. “Into your block and get into parade rest!” Shiro called, waiting for the band to set up. Once everyone was there, he stood in front, shouting the directions: “You are to follow my commands without breaking face. i.e. smiling, laughing, giggling, etc. If you do break face, five pushups.” Most of the freshmen sighed in relief. They were good enough, they could hold face. Almost everyone  ended up doing pushups as the leaders walked around, making faces and saying stupid things…Except Keith. He stood as still as he could until the last call, when he heard Lance cackle from one of the jokes a leader said. Keith found the laugh so stupid that he couldn’t hold it in anymore. He bent over laughing, face getting red. He got down, doing the pushups almost effortlessly, with them being the first five he did.

 

The game ended a few minutes later, everyone exhausted for the most part. Shiro gave a thank you speech for all the hard work then dismissed everyone home. All of the students went to the back, putting instruments away, whining about their soreness from the week. Keith felt better than he had all summer, feeling healthy. As he walked out of the room, he bumped into someone.

 

“Oh sorry, my-“ Keith was cut off by Lance holding a hand up. Shit, he thought to himself.

 

“No, it’s my fault. And Keith…I know you may not remember me, but I wanted to say sorry for being an ass all week…It was uncool and..yea,” Lance said, looking at the ground. “Maybe, when school starts up, we can hang out?” he said, looking at Keith. Keith wasn’t in the mood.

 

“What happened to that girl? The face sucker?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at him and folding his arms.

 

“Oh…Um, she…moved on,” he said, laughing a little pathetically. Keith raised his eyebrows in shock.

 

“Oh, sorry to hear..” he said, happy he was good at keeping a straight face because he was leaping for joy on the inside. “And, yea…that sounds cool Lance, thanks. I don’t really know anyone here, so that be awesome,” he said,, trying to give his best smile.

 

Lance smiled back and said bye, walking the opposite way of Keith, putting his instrument away. Keith wanted to skip out of there and flip the girl off, but he decided not to, he just went straight to Shiro with a grin and waited to be taken home.

 

Shiro looked at him with a curious smirk. “What’s with the smile?” he asked, putting his mace up.

 

“Nothing…Just a good day,” he said, looking at the ground.

 

“Uh huh…Anything to do with Lance?” he asked, grabbing his bag and walking toward the door, Keith following him.

 

“N-No !”


End file.
